What to Do If Your Personal Data Has Been Exposed

2024-04-25

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  • As more of our lives move online, the risk of our personal data being stolen or misused is increasing.
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  • Personal data includes email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, and even passwords.
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  • And large data breaches are happening more often.
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  • In breaches, online criminals can use stolen data to target people with leading messages to get important information.
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  • Or they can take out loans and credit cards in their name.
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  • Here are some ways to protect yourself:
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  • Oren Arar is vice president of buyer privacy at online security company Malwarebytes.
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  • He said in the United States, there is no federal law enforcing companies or organizations to inform individuals of a data breach.
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  • But he said it is common practice for them to do so and they often provide identity protection services.
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  • The situation is better in the European Union.
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  • It requires companies and organizations to tell individuals of some kinds of breaches.
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  • Even after a breach has been made public, cyber security experts say people need to pay attention.
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  • Look out for emails or phone calls that say they are from the hacked organization or someone offering help.
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  • Contact the organization to see if they can confirm it.
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  • Use official links, do not use any links or contact details in any messages you have been sent.
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  • The Federal Trade Commission's website, identitytheft.gov, can tell you of identity theft victims.
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  • And it provides step-by-step advice with how to deal with different situations.
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  • If your data has been breached, the first thing you should do is change your password for the account involved.
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  • Use a strong, long password including letters, numbers and symbols.
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  • And make sure to add a second level of security.
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  • That may include having an email or text sent to you.
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  • It could also mean using a device called a USB authenticator.
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  • And if you have been using the same, or similar, password for different online accounts, make changes to it for each site.
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  • Hackers may take your password from one service and try it on your other accounts.
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  • Arar said, "Just because your info shows up in a breach doesn't mean someone's stolen your identity or money.
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  • But it does mean you're at risk."
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  • He said it is wise to monitor your accounts, change any leaked passwords, set up a second security system, and have a separate email address for less important sign-ups.
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  • It can be hard to follow all the different data breaches.
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  • But there are online services that you can look at to see if your email has been involved in a data breach.
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  • Darren Guccione is CEO of Keeper Security.
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  • It makes password protection programming and offers a tool called BreachWatch.
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  • It keeps watch on the dark web to see if your personal information shows up there.
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  • He said, "When public data breaches occur, cybercriminals gather as much data as possible so they can sell it on the dark web."
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  • If your credit card payment numbers are stolen, inform your bank or credit card company.
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  • Explain that your card is at risk of fraud and ask them to warn you of any suspicious activity.
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  • They will likely give you a new card.
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  • Additionally, some banks and credit cards permit you to lock your account online.
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  • You can also inform credit agencies.
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  • The three main companies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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  • They can freeze your credit.
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  • That makes it hard to see your credit report and open a new account.
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  • Or they will ask lenders to contact you before lending money.
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  • Online security experts warn that breaches involving a telephone company leave buyers at risk of having their phone numbers stolen.
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  • Thieves can use a stolen number to enter accounts that use that phone number as a second security.
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  • To reduce that risk, telephone company AT&T advises creating a password that is needed to make large account changes.
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  • Also, delete emails containing personal information from your email account.
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  • That will help block possible damage by someone who gains entry to your email account.
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  • I'm Gena Bennett. And I'm Gregory Stachel.